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How do most people solve problems in business settings? When a problem is
identified -- something is noticed as wrong -- action is required. Do something,
fix it! Under conditions which are often referred to as "fire, ready, aim,"
how often are managers able to, or even expected to, think in detailed ways?
Detailed thinking includes considering multiple cause and effect relationships
as well as unintended consequences. But managers have neither time nor training
to think about problems in this way. Thus, solutions are often developed and
implemented before the problem is understood.
Nonetheless, problems and solutions are integrally interconnected.
Decision-making
researchers March and Olsen ("A Garbage Can Model of Organizational Choice" in
Administrative Sciences Quarterly, 1972 and "Garbage Can Models of
Decision
Making in Organizations" in Ambiguity and Command, Pitman Publishing, Inc.
1986)
have established the existence of this connection at individual and
organizational
levels.
For example, the identification of potential solutions often leads to an
increased
awareness of problems.
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Since there is a high likelihood of an inappropriate
fit between problem and solution, new unintended and unanticipated consequences
often erupt, in part based on the mismatch between solution and problem.
A "problem solving treadmill" is created by problem solving in this manner --
solving one problem will lead, in time, to new problems. Technical types of
problems, working with physical machines, for example, are situations where
this type of rational problem solving works well. As systems get more complex,
however, delays between problem and solution mean that it is increasingly
difficult to link actions and their consequences.
The "problem of problem-solving" is exacerbated by the fact that a problem's
identification depends, at least in the short term, upon a person's position
and perspective. For example, when oil prices rose dramatically in the mid
and late '70's, this was a dramatic "problem" for consumers of oil and industries
dependent upon fossil fuels. But it represented a windfall for others --
Middle Eastern nations, oil producers, alternative energy producers, and even
environmentalists (because it led to energy-efficiency research). Defining
something as a problem is an interpretation of reality.
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Thus, the way in which problems are framed limits solutions. Consider commonly
heard statements: The problem is... "we need a better management information
system," "the reward system needs to be revamped," "our costs are too high,"
"our management philosophy is outdated," or "we need a learning orientation."
These "problem statements" limit the solutions considered. More often than not,
the known solutions are applied to the perceived problems. And, when new
problems emerge related in part to previous solutions, people fail to make
the connection. The problem solving treadmill leads to a condition which
some define as "insanity" -- doing the same thing over and over and expecting
different results!
Systems thinking provides an alternative to the problem solving treadmill.
By considering problems and solutions as linked, solutions are also evaluated
on the basis of potential unintended consequences. Rather than moving to action,
the systems thinking approach focuses on the assumptions, or mental models, from
which the problems were articulated in the first place.
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